Il Ballo Della Morte and Black Roses
by Atrophy-Conception
Summary: It's Billy and Mandy's Highschool Prom, and Mandy refuses to go. That is, until Mindy goads her into a bet. Now, with the help of Grim's friend Crabina Mandy must become Prom Queen material...that, or lose to Mindy. Minor GrimXMandy. Finished.
1. I NEVER lose

Everyone in this story, aside from a few extra characters are © of Maxwell Atoms and Cartoon Network.

Part One:

**I NEVER lose.**

Hot pink with bold black letters. Printed for excitement and school spirit and energy. It was clearly an event for people who were into the whole High school thing.

And sure enough, because, with such bold colors it was hard to miss, several students were already crowding around the flyer. Teenage girls chattered anxiously and peeked longingly at teenage boys who didn't seem to care as much and there were already a lot of conversations about wardrobe and flowers and transportation echoing along the hallways of the Highschool.

Mandy was at the edge of the crowd…not trying to get a look at the flyer…but simply trying to get to her locker…and becoming more and more impatient the longer it took. As she passed one girl talking in an annoyingly loud and peppy voice, and shoved another smaller child out of her way, she happened to get a glance at the elaborate flyer. She scowled.

_Damn, _She thought _Prom time again. _

She elbowed someone, possibly in the face in order to get in front of her locker and began to fiddle with the lock. Someone behind her was talking in a loud and boasting voice about cherry heels and roses and apparently an outrageously expensive dress imported from France. Other girls gasped on cue. Mandy collected her books and slammed her locker door shut, making the people nearby flinch slightly.

After elbowing a few jocks, who took the hint and quickly got out of her way. She squeezed through the load of High school students clogging the hall until she pushed into an opening and saw Billy and Irwin, who were apparently engrossed in the pink flyer. (Although, Billy always looked that glazed over and stupid…so she couldn't be sure.) She neared them, picking up on their conversation.

"My dad said I coulduse histransportation this year if I got a date." Irwin said. He spotted Mandy and gave her a flirtatious look. Mandy gagged inwardly.

"What do you say baby? Wanna go to prom with a real man?" Mandy shoved him out of the way, ignoring him and turned a gloomy look towards the flyer.

**Find your lover  
Under the Stars. **

**The Prom. **

**May 15th. **

Tickets: $15.00 to get in.

"Prom time," Mandy said, in a cynical voice. "I time for bouquets and dancing with that special someone under significantly placed Christmas lights and loud deafening music. What a waste of a Saturday evening."

"Well I am going. I think it'd be a terrific place to find…my…loovver." Billy said, spelling out the last word on the flyer carefully.

"Billy, you have a girlfriend…remember." Mandy said. Behind her, Irwin was picking himself up,and in a completely nonchalant way moved beside Mandy as though she hadn't just shoved him while he was asking her to got to prom.

"I have what now?" Billy asked stupidly.

"Her name is Karen…how many times to we have to go over this?" Mandy glared at Billy, who raised his hat and scratched his head in confusion.

"Who's that?" Billy asked after a long moment. Mandy rolled her eyes and gave up.

"No one Billy. Forget I said anything." Billy seemed to think about something (A thing which looked quite painful.) before looking down the hallway and spotting a girl sitting at a table in the cafeteria.

"Oh look, it's Karen. Ima go ask her to the prom." He said as he ran off. Mandy sighed.

"Idiot." She said under her breath. She turned in the direction of her class, only to find Irwin standing in her way, grinning stupidly.

"Hey Mandy, planning to go to prom this year?"

"No." Mandy said coldly as she started to walk away.

"Oh…because if you were I was going to ask you to be my date." He said, trying to keep up with her as she stomped down the hall. "I already have a suit…well, it's my dads…and I had to cut out the sleeves a little to fit my…manly muscles…so you know…if…" He started to falter as Mandy began to break away from him. Instead of shutting up he just yelled after her.

"Well if you change your mind…CALL ME!" He hollered.

Mandy shook her head. Irwin never seemed to get the hint. Over the years he had grown significantly, trading his slight pudginess in for stone hard abs and bulging biceps. He had given up his glasses for contacts and dressed mostly in cutoff shirts and jeans that fit loose enough so that at various times they fell to his ankles (Which wasn't all that attractive.)…and for some reason…he thought all this would change her opinion of him. Under all of that he was still the same dork…and besides,as Mandy had stated years ago…love was for the weak minded.

Her classroom was in sight now, room 304. As Mandy approached it she came upon a huddled group of students. In the center, a tall beautiful girl stood with long red locks falling down her back. Around her boys and girls alike were fussing over her. Mandy, who was trying to avoid the group, was extremely aggravated when the girl spotted her.

"Oh, hey Mandy." The sweet and yet goading voice drifted over the crowd, silencing it as several students turned and watched Mandy who was glaring back at the pretty girl.

"Mindy." Mandy said through gritted teeth. Mindy motioned for a boy to get out of her way and stepped in front of Mandy with an air that said that she knew just how beautiful she was, and just how ordinary everyone else was in comparison. Several students watched as both girls stared each other down

One girl, tall and beautiful, with long red wavy hair, a stylish wardrobe and perhaps too much makeup which included glistening lip gloss over a cruelly grinning mouth and perfect white teeth. The other, who could have made any summery color look evil, and wore only eyeliner on her ever scowling eyes.

"So…going to prom this year?" Mindy asked innocently. Mandy glared back. "No…I imagine not. I wouldn't think any boy would ask you…and as we both know…your fashion sense doesn't extend into that realm."

"No…I am not going to prom this year." Mandy replied evenly. "Prom is for idiot conformists and weak brainless saps like you who enjoy trying to get into tight dresses and uncomfortable high heels and receiving flowers from people who, in the long run, don't really matter anyways. I'll be doing something useful with my Saturday night."

Mindy looked slightly annoyed for a moment, but this passed quickly. She smiled. The effect was both cruel and appealing. (Blech.)

"Sounds like loser talk to me."

Mandy crossed her arms.

"Something as menial as Prom takes no mental activity or effort whatsoever. It's a brainless event that I could easily attend…but choose not to. Now get out of my way."

Mindy let out a short and mocking laugh as she stepped aside. Mandy walked past her, aware that the bell was about to ring.

"Sounds to me like your scared." Mindy said at her back, sniggering as she did. Mandy stopped and turned slowly. The look in her eyes would have easily sent any sensible person running at full speed in the opposite direction.

"Scared? I'm never scared." Mandy said, glaring. Her fists were bunched up, and short blond hairs fell over her forhead and eyes. _This_ effect was...well...terrifying.

"Well then prove it." Mindy replied, while resting her hand on her hip.

Mandy seemed to think to herself for a moment. Mostly wondering if the satisfaction of taking Mindy down a peg would be worth going to the school prom. Finally she came to a conclusion, which was this; She NEVER lost…anything…ever.

"What did you have in mind?" Mandy said bitterly.

"This Saturday, we'll see who comes to Promwith the best dress, hair and...date…although…I don't know why you'd even try…then…our peers will decide who deserves to be queen, deal?"

"Fine…but I have no interest in the title of Prom Queen…how bout you just shut up for a month or so…and we'll call it an even bet." Mindy made a hmph sound and turned on her heel as the bell rang. With a growl Mandy went to class. She was in an even fouler mood then usual.

XXX

Grim was reading on the couch when the door opened and then slammed shut. A picture fell from the wall and shattered. He didn't flinch.

"Did you have a good day Mandy?" He asked sarcastically, not looking up from his book.

"Shove it, bonehead. I want you to get a hold of that slug lady that fixed me up for the pageant when I was a kid." She put her book bag on the coffee table and gave Grim an impatient look as he carefully placed a bookmark between the pages he was reading.

When he looked up at her, he noted her set expression and trademark glare. This, coupled with the fact that she was asking for the services of a beauty specialist didn't seem to come together logically.

"What do you need Crabina for?" Grim asked glumly.

"I need her to fix me up for Prom." Mandy said, through partially gritted teeth. Grim raised his brow.

"Why? I thought you hated fun social events."

It was at this moment when Billy decided to barge in unannounced. Both Grim and Mandy turned towards the door bitterly, looking equally annoyed as the dimwitted boy jumped onto the couch and rested his mud caked boots on the coffee table.

"Hey Mandy, hey Grim!" He said loudly. Behind him Irwin strutted in,and gave Mandy a smug look.

"Hey Mandy, heard you were going to Prom from Mindy. You know…"

"Go away Irwin." Mandy said. She turned back towards Grim, who was still giving Billy a dangerously hateful look."I have a bet going with Mindy, and I CANT lose. So hurry up and call your friend."

Grim sighed.

"You know, once in a while a please couldn't hurt." He said grudgingly as he stood up. "Fine. This might take a while, though…long distance call, you know." He said, while walking out of the room.

"Eyy…I thought you said you weren't going to prom, Mandy." Billy said as he picked at something in his ear.

"I wasn't…but I can't let Mindy win…that would only encourage her. Are you going to help, or just stand there like an idiot?" Billy seemed to think about this for a moment, and then shrugged. Irwin, who was becoming upset because no one appeared to be noticing him, stood in front of Mandy, who glared at him.

"How can _I_ help, my love." He said, making his eyebrows dance.

"By leaving." Mandy replied. Irwin frowned.

"But won't you need a date?" He said, looking hopeful.

"Hmm…yes…I suppose I will. I have to get on that. Come Billy." Mandy said, as she grabbed Billy by the shirt and dragged him out of the room, pointedly ignoring the slightly crestfallen look on Irwins face as she did.

XXX

Sort of short. I divided it into parts because there won't be enough submissions to do it in chapters. Future submissions will be a lot longer though. For now, I'm just submitting to see what people think. I've never even considered doing a fic for this show…and it will probably be slow moving, because I have other stories going right now. Still, if people do like it, I'll try to update as soon as possible.


	2. Hair, makeup and dancing lessons

Part 2:

Hair, Makeup, Dancing Lessons and the power of the Underworld.

"Well, I got her." Grim said as he walked into Mandy's living room. Behind him Crabina, the underworlds finest beautician walked in with great poise, which slightly took the concentration away from her tightly stretched face. (Which she occasionally retightened when it began to wrinkle.) Grim crossed his arms as Crabina, looking slightly upset due to the long trip (Which had actually only taken a few minutes, but was quite uncomfortable anyhow.) swept her securely stretched eyes over the room.

Finally her eyes fell on Mandy, who was glaring (Wow…big surprise there.)

"Oh, I'm sorry darling, at first glance you looked like a boy. Well stand up and let's look at what we have to deal with." Mandy stood up in a brooding manner. "Well…I'm sure I can have her ready for the science fair in about a week." Grim cleared his throat.

"Actually it's the school prom." He said darkly.

"And it's this weekend." Mandy added dully.

"Good god, it's worse then I thought! We need to start immediately." She looked Mandy up and down.

"Well, what are we shooting for here? Are you trying to impress a boy? Make someone jealous? Or are you just trying not to scare everyone away when you walk in the doors…I think I can manage the last without too much trouble…"

"I have to be queen…it's for a bet." Mandy said, who was appearing more and more annoyed with each passing moment.

"Queen of the prom?" Crabina looked horrified. She paused for a moment and then shrugged. It was a mortal after all. If she failed, it wouldn't get back to the underworld.

" Well then, come on child, we have a lot of work to do. Take me to your makeup and wardrobe and we'll see what we have to work with. Do you have a gown?" Crabina asked as she grabbed Mandy by the wrist.

"No."

"Well we'll have to go shopping first then." She said, while changing direction and heading towards the door.

"I don't have makeup either." Mandy said, looking as if she would rather gnaw her own arm off then be dragged around…especially to go pick up a prom dress and makeup.

"Well we'll see to that later." Crabina said…then, she stopped.

"I assume you at least have a date." She took a look at Mandy's face and sighed. "No I suppose not."

"I'll take her!" Irwin said as he barged in the room, smiling broadly.

"Good well that's…" Crabina looked at Irwin for a moment, cringed slightly and then shook her head. "Well…we can work on him later. To the mall!" Mandy wasn't given a chance to profess her absolute revulsion at the thought of going anywhere with Irwin, before she was swept out the door.

Irwin, who was now alone with Grim and Billy was looking as though all of his dreams had come true.

"Wow…I'm going to the prom with Mandy. I have to go tell my dad I have a date!" He ran out of the front door, nearly tripping as he did. Grim shook his head.

"She doesn't have a prayer of a chance." He said the last in a bitter sort of voice.

XXX

Mandy was standing near several racks of Prom dresses, glaring at everyone who walked by. (Mostly teen girls, who came in filled with anticipation, and then would inexplicably, leave without purchasing anything.) The section began to look quite empty. This wasn't all due to Mandy's less then inviting demeanor, however. Many of them were also quite nervous when it came to the strange reptilian like woman rummaging about the dresses.

Crabina would occasionally bring a dress up to the gloomy teenage girl and hold it up to her, shake her head, and then go back and look for something a little more flattering. It was amazing how Mandy could make a beautiful flowing gown look like a nightmare. (Not necessarily implying that Mandy was in any way homely. There was just so much bitterness in her façade; it was kind of hard to tell.) After a while, Crabina began to assume that even in an Easter yellow gown, with lilies on the skirt, and lace from top to bottom, Mandy could single-handedly take over the underworld, and have it's king cowering in a corner in fear.

Finally, Crabina dropped her hands in defeat and grabbed a stack of dresses that were simply, slightly horrifying on the girl.

"We'll figure out which one is best after we do your hair and makeup." She said, no longer sounding confident about her task. "You know dear, this was easier when you were only a child." Mandy had stood in the same spot, with the same look on her face the entire time.

"Well, we'll go find a case of makeup…" She examined Mandy's scowling face, slightly dark eyes and furled eyebrows. "A big case…and maybe some hairspray…and then we'll start working on the mess that you call an image."

For a moment Mandy watched the wretched woman as she headed towards the makeup section before she grumbled to herself and followed. She was already regretting the whole thing.

"I should have kept my big mouth closed." She said to herself, in an ominous and nearly monotone voice.

XXX

Grim was becoming increasingly impatient, as he sat at Billy's table, trying desperately to read his book (Tragic Tales Of Misfortune and Woe…because that sort of thing always put him in a positive mood.) despite the loud pounding sound coming from the next room, where Billy and Irwin had moved to after leaving Mandy's house.

Across from him, Harold was reading the newspaper blissfully, as his coffee occasionally shook and dripped on the table. Finally, it tipped over onto the man's lap and he yelled.

He looked confused for a moment then cleared his throat.

"Would you mind seeing what their doing over there, Grim? Thanks." He said, and continued to read the paper. (Apparently not too concerned with the stain on his pants.)

"What? Me? Why can't you do it? He's your son."

"Hehe…good one, Grim." Grim glared at Harold for a moment before swearing under his breath and stalking off into the next room.

"Hey! What are you kids doing in here? Your shaking de whole house!" Grim said loudly.

Music was blaring (If that was indeed what one would call it.) from a nearby stereo, and both boys appeared to be dancing (Or something.) to it. Billy turned it off and looked proudly at Grim.

"I was teaching Irwin how to dance." He lowered his voice "Hyuh, he needs a lot of work." Irwin gave Billy an annoyed look.

"I already told you I know how to dance, Billy!" He started to do a slightly shaky version of something that looked like a cross between break dancing and possibly being on fire. Which was made even less impressive because…well…it was Irwin. As he did, Billy gave Grim a look that was meant to be the look of an intelligent critic, (but just made him look constipated.) and stepped forward.

"Yeah, Irwin…just watch the master." He started to do _something, _although no one watching him would have called it dancing. Both boys stopped after a while…which was an immense relief and started yelling at each other. Grim was getting a headache. As they screamed at each other (Well Irwin screamed, Billy was putting his fingers in his ears and was singing loudly and horribly.) Grim caught snippets of their argument.

"Shut up. Agh! Your so immature!"

"Merrily merrily merrily!"

"Stop it! I hate you!"

"I can't hear you…Lalala."

"I don't even know why I come over here anymore!"

"Your just jealous cause I gots all the moves! And you are terrible."

"No you the terrible one Billy!"

"SHUT UP!" Grim finally yelled, his eye sockets blazing with livid fire. "Shut up both of you! Your both terrible!" Both boys fell into silence.

"I swear, mortals dese days. You couldn't dance if your feet were on fire." Grim said. He stopped for a moment, as a mental picture of this formed in his skull and he entertained himself for a few brief moments before shaking his head.

"Now be quiet, or the next time I come in here you won't have legs to dance badly on." He said and turned to leave.

"Hey Grim, that's not fair…I don't see you dancing." Billy said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, you can't bum our trip, man." Irwin said. Grim pointed a skeletal finger at the both of them.

"Please, I could dance circles around you idiots."

"Sure Grim." Billy said, in a slightly mocking voice. "Yeah, you just keep dreaming…and maybe someday those dreams'll come true." Grim gave Billy a loathsome look.

"What the hell are you talking about, boy?"

"Oh I think you know. Come on Irwin…let's go see if Mandy's back." Billy said as he headed towards the door.

"Yeah!" Irwin said, following him. Grim grumbled to himself. (Something about mortal fools, his scythe and lots and lots of fire.) He followed after both boys anyways, because the thought of being alone in the house with Harold and Gladys didn't really thrill him. One could only take a severely stupid man and a woman on the edge of her sanity for so long before one began to feel stupid and on the edge as a result. At least Mandy was sensible. (Evil…but sensible.)

XXX

About an hour after they left the mall, Mandy was standing in her bedroom in front of a full-length mirror. She had an abhorrent look on her face as Crabina circled around her, occasionally adjusting things, and more often pausing and shaking her head. She was currently wearing a white dress…(which was a color that Mandy was not well associated with) with a very large billowing skirt. Crabina had also put something in her hair to make it curl and had added a few daisies to it. The result was…in so many words…a disaster.

"Well this isn't working…unless you've managed to fix that small problem you were having last time."

"I think it's best if we don't bring that up again." Mandy said dully as she resisted the urge to rip the fluffy white dress to shreds.

"Alright…well we'll just have to keep looking."

From somewhere below them came the sound of the front door slamming shut and then they both heard the slightly muffled sound of Billy screaming something at the top of his lungs. Mandy sighed. Crabina motioned towards the stack of dresses still lying on Mandy's bed.

"You try the next one on while I go talk to Grim." She said as she left the room.

XXX

Grim entered Mandy's house behind Billy and Irwin at around the same time Crabina was descending the stairs.

"I'm at the edge of my noose, Grim." She said as she reached the bottom step and gave Irwin the tired look of someone surveying a particularly nasty obstacle that they'll soon have to overcome. "That girl is impossible to work with." For a moment Grim looked shocked.

"You're giving up?" He asked.

"Oh no, darling, I never give up. But I need as much help as I can get. Do you still have Rubella's number?"

"I think so. Was dat de girl who sold her soul for dancing lessons with Terpsichore?"

"Yes, damned perhaps, but excellent on her feet. Give her a call, would you?" She looked Irwin over. "I'll work on your image later. For now, how are your dancing skills?" Grim spoke up before Irwin got a chance to.

"Terrible…trust me on this."

"Rubella will start with you first then. I'll be upstairs. Call me when she gets here, would you Grim."

"You got it, Crabina." He said as he cast his skeletal fingers out to summon his scythe.

When Crabina was gone, Irwin turned to Grim who had zapped a strange and morbid phone onto Mandy's coffee table and was currently dialing a number.

"Who's Rubella, yo?"

"Oh…just some mortal girl who gave up her soul to learn how to dance with a muse. A bit odd…but you get used to the horrible growths and the second head pretty quickly." He said. Irwin swallowed, suddenly looking ill.

"Oh…well…that's good…" He said slowly.

"Ah here we go." Grim said pleasantly. "Damn…answering machine. I don't know where she could possibly be…I would have thought the alteration of her skin tone and the flaking would have deterred any sort of social life." He said drearily. For a moment he looked surprised, then embarrassed. "Oh…hello Rubella." Both boys exchanged a side look and then sat down in a bored manner as Grim began the well-known male process of backpedaling on the phone.

XXX

Mandy and Crabina had gone through all of the dresses by the time Rubella arrived and much to Crabina's dismay and Mandy's annoyance, none of them were very flattering. Crabina was just about to suggest going through them again (In case one of them would somehow become alluring the second time around.) when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Crabina replied as the knocking ceased.

"It's Grim, Rubella's here and she's waitin downstairs for your instructions." Crabina walked over to the door and opened it.

"Alright, take five, honey." She said as she walked by the reaper. "This may take a while."

Grim was holding the door open when Crabina walked through and made her way down the hallway and towards the stairs. As he was standing there he caught sight of Mandy and had to automatically bite down hard to keep from laughing. She glared at him.

"Watch it bonehead, or I'll let Saliva bury you all over the backyard again." She said through gritted teeth. Grim quickly feigned a cough and cleared his throat.

"That dress looks very…yellow…on you." He replied pitifully.

Mandy snarled to herself.

"There's no way I'm wearing this hideous dress. Or any of these. This isn't my style." Grim frowned.

"Well no offense Mandy, but if you want to have any chance of winning this you're going to have to do things a little differently."

Mandy looked sour for a moment as she crossed her arms and thought to herself.

"Maybe this whole thing was a mistake." She said finally. It seemed almost painful to admit that she would ever make a mistake. Grim shrugged.

"Well, if you forfeit now maybe…"

"No…if I forfeit I lose. I NEVER lose." There was an edge to her voice that Grim had learned long ago not to mess with. (Him and many other poor unfortunate souls.) He sighed.

"So you've said." Grim said in a cold voice. He stepped into the room (For up until then he had been keeping his distance in the hallway, for it always made him uncomfortable to venture into Mandy's room.) and headed towards the pile of dresses. He stood for a moment in front of them, thinking, before he took out his scythe.

"Stand up and let's see what we can do wit you." He said.

XXX

Part 2 finished. Thanx for the reviews I really appreciate them.


	3. La Valse

Part Three:

La Valse

Mandy crossed her arms and watched as Grim examined her and then the dresses lying on the bed.

"Your not going to mash them together are you? The last time you did that things didn't exactly turn out too well."

Grim shook his head.

"Nah, if I mashed dese together they'd come out looking like some deranged peacock…I don't know what Crabina was thinking. I'm just gonna see what I can do with what your wearing." He raised his scythe. "We should probably start with the color...yellow is definitely not flattering on you." He pointed his blade at her and closed one eye in a typical aiming manner. There was a flash and then he lowered his scythe again.

Mandy looked down and raised her brow.

"Great…" She said sarcastically. "It's not yellow anymore…it's still an ugly dress." She lifted the now black skirt of the gown slightly and gave Grim a pointed look that said 'This is the best you can do Mr. Underworld?'

"Hey! I'm just getting started!" Grim said, annoyed. He spun his scythe around and, with the regular look of pleasure associated with unleashing its magic on his skull (Especially when he was unleashing it on the two infuriating children that had enslaved him.), blasted Mandy full force with its power.

Mandy shaded her eyes as the illumination of the underworld engulfed her.

XXX

Crabina grabbed Irwin by the collar and pulled him out from behind the recliner he had been hiding behind.

"No!" He cried as he grabbed the chair in a pathetic attempt to keep from having to dance with the ghastly woman standing in the center of the room. "I don't wanna touch her, yo!"

Rubella growled inwardly and then gave Billy a dangerous look, who had been in the process of poking at a sore growing on her arm.

"Hey lady?" He said. Rubella's heads turned towards him. One of her four eyes was flinching in annoyance. "Why are you so gross?" She turned away again, ignoring him.

"Now don't be such a baby." Crabina said as she dragged Irwin towards Rubella. "She's going to teach you how to dance properly."

Irwin came to rest in front of the creature and stood rigid for a moment. He swallowed and then gave Rubella a nervous grin. She scowled in return.

"Alright, boy, let's see what you've got." She put out a flaky hand. Irwin cowered away from it.

"Uh…that's ok, yo. I already know how to dance." He took a step back, and bumped into Crabina, who pushed him forward again.

"You have to learn, otherwise you'll put both you and Mandy to shame." Irwin swallowed and took Rubella's hand nervously.

"Well…if it's for my love." After Rubella finally got him in the correct waltz position she cleared her throat and flourished gracefully. (Which would have looked a lot more endearing if Billy hadn't still been poking at the sore on her arm…and…if she didn't have the sore on her arm…well…and A LOT of other things.)

"Alright, now this is a very famous dance. It's called, the waltz…or La Valse…that's French. We're going to be learning the tango styled waltz which incorporates basic waltz moves while adding the style of tango into the mix. Got that?" Irwin gave her a funny look.

"Uh…what?" Rubella sighed.

"Start the music Crabina. Now we'll start with the basic steps of the International Standard waltz and go from there into the tango styled waltz." When the music started Irwin bewilderedly tried to follow the steps as Rubella lead and muttered…and eventually shouted (And occasionally coupled with a punch on the side of the head.) directions to him. In the next few minutes he stepped on her feet fifteen times and missed several steps. Behind them, Billy was trying to follow with a broom.

Finally, Rubella stopped.

"What is wrong with you! You're the worst dancer I've ever seen!" She stopped and happened to catch sight of Billy who was leading the broom into a complicated dance step that involved hitting it occasionally against the wall. Rubella sighed.

"Well maybe if you weren't so scary and gross, yo!" Irwin said defensively. Rubella growled and Crabina automatically jumped forward and held the woman back as she clawed at Irwin, who had begun to scream.

XXX

"Not bad, Grim." Mandy said, as she glared at her reflection. "Better then it was, anyway." Grim scowled.

"Your welcome." He replied grudgingly.

The dress, once Easter yellow with a billowing skirt that had fell just below Mandy's knees, and had been covered in frills now fell to her ankles. It was, for the most part black, but had a pink undertone

The gown (Which was sleeveless.) had pink in other various places as well and, where as most prom dresses looked nice until one really examined the craftsmanship, THIS one looked like a cross between a gown made by an extremely costly designer and an ancient robe that one might find on a vampire in the Victorian era. The black parts were covered in lace with intricate designs in it. (Although, if anyone looked closely they might find that many of the designs included the skull and bones motif.)

"This looks expensive." Mandy said as she smoothed down a part of the skirt. "And perhaps a little too gothic for me…this is more your style, Grim…what's wrong with pink?" Grim looked irritated for a moment.

"First of all, there's plenty of pink in dere. Second of all, when you glare in it …you look like you have a right to." He crossed his arms. "And I wouldn't be caught dead in that dress."

Mandy crossed her arms.

"Fine…at least it doesn't look like it did before."

"Well it wouldn't…it's not the same dress. I traded it for one from the underworld." His scythe vanished. He was about to say something else (Perhaps about someone in the underworld being stuck with yellow for the next couple of days.) When they both heard a bloodcurdling scream from below.

They shared a look and headed for the door.

"Sounds like Rubella's dancing lesson isn't going too well." Grim said as he opened the door for Mandy and then followed her out.

Both of them reached the stairway in time to see Rubella break free from Crabina's grip and chase after Irwin as he dove behind the recliner again. Rubella dove after him and began to savage his arm while the boy screamed for help. Grim hurried down the stairs, leaving Mandy to watch the scene in both frustration and interest.

"What the hell is going on?" Grim said as he reached Crabina's side.

"Well…the boy called her ugly, and then your idiot friend over there started to beat her with a broom after I finally got her to calm down because he mistook a growth for a spider or something…and then after the idiot ran out the door screaming, Irwin over there said he didn't want to learn how to dance from some horrible monster…you know how bad Rubella's temper is, Grim." Grim pulled his scythe out and pointed it at the recliner. He aimed at a place between Rubella and Irwin and blasted them apart.

Rubella fell a few feet away where she sat for a moment grumbling. Irwin, crawled toward Grim and Crabina desperately and hid behind them as the woman/creature stood up and stomped towards them.

"That's it! I quit! You are on your own!" She screamed. She barged past Grim, growling and grumbling stuff to herself angrily. Grim watched her as she headed into Mandy's kitchen. There was a blinding flash and her grumbling stopped. Both him and Crabina were silent for a moment, before they turned a collective glare on Irwin, who was still cowering between the two of them.

"Good work, idiot!" Grim said as he put his scythe away.

"Oh lord, my sinuses." Crabina said as she pinched the area where the swell of her nose would have been. "Well…since our professional has…retired her services…already…I guess we'd better get to work right away." She turned towards Mandy, who she noticed on the stairs. Her look turned slightly more optimistic.

"Well, at least that's done. Excellent work, Grim…couldn't have done better myself." She said approvingly.

"Well, you know…" Grim replied, looking pleased.

Mandy glared down at them as Irwin, who seemed to get over the trauma he had just undertook when he caught sight of Mandy, sidled up to her and grinned.

"Hey baby, lookin good." Without looking at him, she pushed him off of the stair he was standing on and then started to head back up to the top floor.

"I'll be in my room." She said dourly.

Irwin picked himself up and sighed as he watched her leave.

"I can't believe I'm going to prom with that, yo." He said dreamily.

Grim and Crabina shared a weary look.

"She'd be better off with the broom." Grim said under his breath.

Crabina stepped towards Irwin.

"Alright child. We have three days…"

"Actually…the Prom is on Saturday…so we only have today and tomorrow." Grim said. Crabina flinched and then shook it off.

"Alright…so we have two…ish days to teach you how to waltz…and fix your wardrobe." Crabina inspected Irwin for a moment. "And maybe…if we don't stop to eat or sleep…we can pull it off."

Grim sighed.

"The waltz, feh…you mortals make everything more difficult then it's gotta be."

"Hey, man…the waltz is really hard." Irwin said defensively.

"Please, the waltz is just a full turn in two measures with three steps per measure…unless of course your doing the American waltz…then it's a side by side with a spin. Americans…always gotta mess with tings that are already fine the way they are."

Crabina studied Grim thoughtfully for a moment before holding her hand out to him.

"Waltz with me, Grim." Grim gave her hands a scrutinizing look before taking them.

"Now boy, watch how it's done." He said, before the two of them began to waltz. As they went along Crabina appeared to grow more and more please with occurrences. After they stopped she clapped her hands together, looking as though some natural disaster had suddenly completely wiped out some of her most contemptible troubles.

"Excellent Grim, now that's how it's done, YOU'LL take Mandy to Prom…you can go home now Irwin."

"That's right…wait…what?" Grim said, his expression changing from smugness to absolute horror. Irwin, in turn, looked enraged.

"There is no way I'm taking dat brat to her prom! You must be crazy woman! Besides, I'm the Grim Reaper don't you think I'll stand out a little at some peppy school dance?" Crabina sighed, showing signs that her headache was coming back.

"Grim, there are all kinds of advances in cosmetic surgery and dark magic that can help YOU, but no power in the UNDERWORLD can help that boy."

"Hey!" Irwin said, his face turning red. "That's messed up…I wanna take Mandy! Your not getting in on my territory, Reaper!" He jumped at Grim, who stepped out of the way, causing him to run into a wall.

"Relax, stupid. There's no way I'm taking her. I don't want to be the one there when she loses."

"But Grim." Crabina started, desperate at the thought of having to keep teaching Irwin…when just a moment before she had thought that perhaps she had overcome the bulk of her obstacles.

"No buts! I refuse and dats dat." He said, while raising his jaw and stalking out of the room. Crabina watched him go with a sigh. Irwin stood.

"Don't worry…we don't need him." He said, looking victorious. Crabina gave him a hateful look.

"Shut up." She said. Irwin deflated a little. "I'll find a way to make this work." She said as she examined the place where Grim had left in concentration.

XXX

Thanx for the reviews, hope you liked the chapter!


	4. Falling Into Step

Part Four:

Falling Into Step

"Wake up sleepy head!" Crabina said as she pulled Mandy's covers off of her and threw them in the corner. "We only have so much time!"

Mandy opened her eyes blearily and gave the wretched woman a hateful look. Nevertheless, she sat up and rubbed at her eyes. Her blond hair, which was in disarray, was sticking up at odd angles and she was wearing a large pink nightshirt with the words Hate U on it. Crabina shook her head.

"So much work, so little time." She said as Mandy stood and pushed past her towards her dresser.

After she got changed and ran a brush quickly through her hair she headed towards the bottom floor of her house, finding Billy and Irwin already waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked coldly as she headed towards the kitchen.

"You mom and dad let us in, yo." Irwin said smugly as he followed her with Billy at his heels.

"Well get out." Mandy replied as she began to make herself breakfast.

"Now now." Crabina said as she came through the door. "Irwin is here to be your dancing partner…if your going to be dancing together tomorrow evening we're going to need to make sure you can get along on the dance floor."

Mandy gave Irwin a disgusted look.

"I have a better idea." Mandy said, her face even. "How about I beat the snot out of him now, and stay away from the dance floor." She said and turned back to her breakfast.

"Honey, if you want to be Prom Queen your going to have to learn how to dance sometime."

Mandy sighed and bit into her toast. After, she chugged her orange juice, making Crabina cringe a little and turned around, wiping her mouth as she did.

"Fine, but I'm not touching him."

"Well…I guess I'll take what I can get. We'll cover slow dancing later…maybe we can use the broom. Come on then, let's go out and do this where there's fresh air." Irwin followed her enthusiastically, occasionally casting a lovesick look towards Mandy, which, she would pointedly ignore.

XXX

It was 9:00 A.M and the sun was shining. The cool spring breeze was gently dancing through the trees, which were full of singing birds.

Grim set his scythe down next to the tree and chuckled when it accidentally went off and deep-fried one of the birds. The others flew away…which was fine with him. He was always uncomfortable lying in a hammock with birds overhead.

Grim pulled out the obituaries section of the newspaper and eased himself into the hammock. He read for about two minutes before he caught sight of Crabina leading the brats into Billy's backyard. He scowled and pulled the newspaper up higher to make a point of disregarding their presence. Ever since yesterday afternoon, Crabina had been bugging the hell out of him with methods to get him to change his mind about escorting Mandy to the prom. So far she had tried guilt, which hadn't worked, fear, bribery, and blackmail. He vaguely wondered what she was getting at this time.

XXX

Crabina hoisted the boom box as close to Grim as she dared, and carefully, so as not to draw attention to herself, cranked up the volume knob. (Not because she thought it would change his mind, but because she was getting annoyed at his stubbornness, and wanted to agitate the hell out of him.)

She motioned for Billy to get close to the stereo. He responded with a stupid looking smile and sat down on the grass next it.

"Alright Billy, crank up the stereo." Crabina said, as Billy, looking far too enthusiastic began to play with the radio buttons, his tongue hanging out in pure delight. Music blasted from the hi-fi, filling the yard and making Mandy cover her ears.

Grim jumped and nearly fell off the hammock. He gritted his teeth, but rather then responding to the noise, forced himself to bury his skull further in the newspaper.

"Turn the volume down Billy!" Mandy yelled furiously. Billy gave her a thumbs up and turned it up a little. Now what was identifiable as rap cranked out of the stereo system at full blast.

"Yeah!" Irwin said, and began to dance badly. Mandy took a step back from him and then angrily charged towards Billy, who recoiled from her. After Irwin received a slap in the back of the head from Crabina and Mandy had punched Billy in the nose, Grim finally lowered his newspaper and got out of the hammock.

He gave Crabina an impulsive look and, after folding the paper and grabbing his scythe, left the backyard.

Crabina sighed and turned the volume down.

"Alright, let's get started then." She said dismally as she switched to a more Prom worthy station. "Irwin, stand in front of Mandy and try not to move too much."

XXX

A couple hours later Crabina found Grim sitting in front of the TV. Brooding, she sat next to him and crossed her arms.

"How were the dancing lessons?" He asked absently, disregarding the accusing look she gave him.

"Terrible. That boy can't dance to save his life…and the only contact Mandy made with him was to punch him in the face when he tried to take her hand. I don't see how I can fix this before tomorrow."

"Oh…I wouldn't worry about it." Grim said, grinning wickedly. "She'll probably kill him before they get to the school anyways."

Crabina glared at him.

She fished through her fur (Of course, what creature the fur belonged to is not to be inquired on.) coat she was wearing and pulled out a vile of amber liquid that she stared at for a moment before holding it out in front of Grim. He gave it a distrusting look.

"Look, she doesn't even have to know it's you. I got this recipe out of an old underworld beauticians book, a few drops and you'll be unrecognizable even to yourself."

Grim waved the bottle away.

"No way…I know what you're getting at…I tried being mortal once and I hated it."

"Oh come on…I thought she was your friend…do you WANT her to lose?" Crabina asked desperately…truthfully thinking more of her own reputation rather then Mandy's success.

"Hah! I could care less if dat brat loses…besides…it wouldn't hurt for her to realize that she can't ALWAYS win…maybe losing will straighten her out a little."

Crabina frowned.

"Fine…but you know if she loses she's going to be unbearable." Crabina said as a last desperate attempt. "That one seems like someone who could hold a grudge for a LONG time…on whoever was responsible." Grim, who was not stupid raised his eyebrows (And oddly enough…he does actually HAVE eyebrows…if you don't believe me…watch the show sometime and find out for yourself.) as he considered this.

The spell was broken however when he caught sight of Crabina's hopeful look. He glared and stood up.

"Forget it, Crabina! I'm not taking her and dats final!" He said and stomped out of the room. Crabina deflated a little and set the vial on an end table at her side.

"Drat."

XXX

Mandy spent much of the afternoon in an ominous mood. After watching Irwin try to dance for the last couple hours she came to the conclusion that she'd rather have her legs sawed off (Or better yet, his legs sawed off.) then dance with him the next evening…or ever. The whole experience was making her regret taking Mindy's challenge more and more.

She was even beginning to find herself…no…it was best not to think like that. She WOULD win…no matter what it took.

After she hadeaten a quick dinner with her parents, who didn't notice her mood …because she was never happy. She stole away to her bedroom, and slipped into the gown that Grim had gotten her from the Underworld. The mirror, which had been dragged in a day or two before (For Mandy had never owned a full length mirror before.) shown back her reflection with piercing exactitude. She growled under her breath as she started to put the pink tinted flowers that Crabina had gotten for her in her blonde hair. There was a case of makeup at her side, but she refused to even look at it before the Prom.

She stood up in front of the mirror and turned to look at herself. She scowled.

Doubt was not something that Mandy was generally familiar with, but she couldn't help but feel a tinge of it now. She NEVER lost…but this was mostly because the challenges she faced took strength, intelligence, willpower and control. She had all of those things. Beauty? Even she did not deny that this was a thing that she did not hold in high regard. She wasn't beautiful…just as she could not dance…or find a date other then Irwin who would go with her without some…fearsome persuasion. It was her own fault…it wasn't that she couldn't BE a prom queen if she really tried…it was just that she chose not to. She didn't want to lose…but if it meant that she would have to act like Mindy to win…then perhaps she'd have to throw in the towel.

She pulled off the dress and ripped the flowers out of her hair. If there had been anyone there, they would have been VERY unlucky at that moment.

After she pulled on her pj's, for by that time the sun had set and her parents had already retired to their bedroom, she sat on the edge of her bed and glared at the wall. (Anyone watching would have sworn the wall tried to shrink away.)

The dress was crumpled on the floor with ripped flowers around it. She stood, and walked across the room, making sure to step on both the dress and flowers as she did, and headed towards her bedroom door.

--POV varies from here on out--

Mandy walked across the carpeted hallway in bare feet, planning to descend the stairway to where the television sat and watch mindlessly for a while without any distractions from Crabina, her parents, or those idiot friends of hers.

She scowled when she saw that the television was already on, as it's faint glow set her lower floor alight in bluish illumination. She was in one of those moods where the presence of anyone was unwelcome (Well…she was like this normally…but this time whoever it was would find themselves very unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.)

It turned out to be Grim. Mandy stood in the doorway glaring at him for a moment before he finally noticed her.

"What are you doing here, bonehead…I thought Billy had custody tonight." She said, crossing her arms.

"Nope." Grim said, as he turned back to the TV. "Third Friday of May. I'm yours…go check your calendar if you don't believe me." He said dully.

Instead of doing what he suggested, Mandy sat down beside him. He was watching a corny horror film. The sort where one could see the wires on the bats and the zipper on the monster. She could never figure why he liked them so much. They were so lame.

"I'm thinking about forfeiting." She said in a low and heated voice. "This whole thing is a waste of my time."

Grim gave her an astonished look.

"You're choosing to lose?" He asked in disbelief. Mandy's eyes narrowed.

"No…I'm choosing NOT to win." Mandy growled back defensively. Grim turned away, choosing not to argue this point as they both sat in silence for a while, listening to the murmur of bad acting as it drifted from the faint television set.

"Honestly child," Grim said after a while. "I don't know why you ever took the challenge to begin with. Mindy is clearly a more suitable candidate for Prom Queen." Out of the corner of his eye socket Grim must have caught the altogether deadly look Mandy was giving him.

"I mean you're more suitable for other tings." He added quickly, so as not to find himself in a thousand tiny pieces.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" Mandy said, danger still evident in her voice.

"I just don't get why you'd take a challenge where you have to dance and be beautiful and spend time with someone you hate, if all you'll get from it in the end is a plastic crown that you'll probably either destroy in the end or give to your dog to bury in the yard." He said. Mandy relaxed a little.

"Because..."

"I know…you never lose." Grim interrupted monotonously. "Please…your not even trying. You either have to do the things you don't want to or lose. You can't keep acting like you are now and expect to beat Mindy in THIS sort of competition. I mean…I saw you today…at least Irwin was trying"

She crossed her arms and pretended to watch the bad horror movie for a while. Finally after what seemed like an agonizingly long silence Grim shifted uncomfortably.

"It's not just you." He said finally. "That boy is a nightmare on the dance floor. He'd make even the best dancer look like a fool." Mandy sighed.

"He's a nightmare anywhere, Grim. You can't expect me to learn to dance with THAT."

"True." Grim replied. He smoothed the fabric of his robe down in an uncomfortable motion and then after a moment where he cursed his conscience, he took the remote from beside of the couch and turned the television off. Mandy hadn't really been watching, but came out of her thoughts and glared at him as though she had. He sighed and stood.

_Damn. _He thought as he did.

"Well, what about me?" He said as he offered her a skeletal hand. "If I taught you how to dance would you stop complaining?" Mandy raised her brow.

"The Grim Reaper can dance?" She asked, her voice laced with both uncertainty and sarcasm. "Funny…I wouldn't think that would be a useful skill in YOUR line of work."

"You'd be surprised what sort of skills you need in MY line of work. Besides, dancing is simple. Especially slow dancing. Do you want to learn or not?" He asked a little impatiently. Mandy surveyed his hand for a moment before she surprised both of them by taking it.

Grim pulled her onto her feet and with an almost over dramatic wave a sort of light and beautiful music seemed to come from nowhere.

"Alright now do you want to learn something easy or something hard?" He asked, feeling slightly strange as he prepared to dance with the abrasive girl in front of him. Wasn't this what he had been avoiding in the first place?

"Let's go with easy…I don't want to be here all night." Words that were meant to be laced with cynicism came out a lot more timidly then Mandy would have wished. This was an unusual situation for her. Grim cleared his throat.

"Very well. The key to easy slow dancing is to get really close to your partner to allow for as little movement as humanly possible…I believe your generation invented this type of slow dancing…basically hugging and walking around in circles." It was clear he wasn't a fan of modern dancing. Mandy thought of Irwin and shivered.

"On second thought…let's go with the version that allows for as little contact as possible." She said quickly. Grim nodded.

"Then you want old fashioned dancing." He said and took her hand. "Your left hand goes in mine, you're right on my shoulder." He touched her waist delicately and began to move slowly, directing each of her steps.

"The farther apart you are, the larger your gait." He said as she began to get the hang of it. As Mandy began to fall easily into each step, she became more uncomfortable with her position. Grim was surprisingly good on his feet. She imagined that with anyone else, she would not have gotten the hang of it so quickly. Was the room becoming warmer, or was it just her?

"If you lesson the distance between you and your partner the dance becomes more difficult and you run the risk of having your feet trampled on." Grim said suddenly, breaking Mandy out of her unusual thoughts. The distance had lessened between them without her noticing. She was close enough now so that she could feel the fabric of his robe brushing occasionally across her face. They went on like this for a few minutes before Grim halted. Still, he had her hand and was much closer then she would have wished in the circumstances.

"I think you have the hang of this. Do you want to try something more difficult?" He asked a little uneasily. She had been silent the entire time and it was making him nervous. Instead of replying she broke away, and automatically put some distance between them.

"No…I'm tired…I'm going to bed." She said looking strange. She left the room without another word and disappeared up the stairs.

Grim sighed after she left and waved his hand. The music stopped. He sat back on the couch and turned the TV back on. By now, the movie was over and credits were flitting across the page. He watched them for a while, without really seeing them then turned towards the vial Crabina had left sitting on the end table by the couch.

_Damn. _He thought again and crossed his arms.

XXX

Thank you all very much for your reviews! I appreciate every one of them!


	5. Into A Black Rose

Part Five:

Into A Black Rose

Even before she opened her eyes the thought came to her coupled with a dread that she had never felt before when dealing with creatures of the underworld or anything that came out of Billy's nose. It was the day of Prom.

Mandy sat up and looked at the time. It was 4:00 A.M. Crabina wouldn't bug her for a couple more hours. Still, Mandy pulled the covers off of her and stood. She wasn't in the mood for sleeping. Her dress, which she had collected off the floor the night before was hanging on a hook on her wall. The flowers had been thrown in the garbage…she wasn't able to save them…nor did she have any desire to try.

She sat in front of the full-length mirror and brushed her hair with little enthusiasm. After her "dancing lesson" the night before she had made her decision. She would go to Prom, she would dance with Irwin (Having a can of disinfectant on her at all times) and she would wipe the smile off of Mindy's face with the iron will, which was her own. If she had to look like a prom queen…and put up with Irwin for one night, it would make it all the sweeter when she broke his nose and shoved the plastic crown down Mindy's throat when the damn event was finally over.

Mandy stood and crossed over to the door.

XXX

Grim placed a set of spectacles over his eye sockets (Which stayed inexplicably where they were despite his lack of ears or noses) as he opened an ancient leather-bound book in the center of Billy's basement. He had taken a portal over from her house a couple hours after Mandy had gone to bed and had been searching through his trunk ever since. Finally he found what he was looking for.

"Aha…thought I saw this in here." He said with satisfaction as he read down a set of ingredients, which were printed in an ancient language next to a picture of a terrible monster, which appeared to be slowly transforming into a beautiful woman. It was the instructions Crabina must have used earlier to make the potion that was now carefully tucked in his robe. He couldn't think of anything else she could have possibly used but this…and Maddarava (Famous potion maker and beautician in the underworld…) was well known among beauty consultants.

"Maddarava's Brew For Temporary Shape Shifting." He began reading the inscription underneath the picture. "Marvels from the darkest shape shifting enchantments and the most modern fashion techniques. Often used when the drinker wishes to set foot in the mortal world. The appearance of the user depends on what is added into the concoction…blah blah blah…user sometimes catches fire…yada yada"

Grim looked at it skeptically, skimming the page for information. Currently what he wanted to know was whether or not he would be able to maintain his powers in mortal form. He had tried being mortal once…and not having any powers wasn't any fun. He got beat up a lot.

He reached the bottom of the page and didn't find anything having to do with what he was looking for. Something else, however, did happen to catch his eye sockets…which went wide.

"May last between twenty four hours and TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND YEARS!" Grim yelled. He flipped the page over quickly and relaxed a little. There was an antidote. He sighed. He hated using potions on himself…particularly when there was an antidote. (Not logical until one considers the fact that if there is an antidote…it means it once went wrong…and can therefore go wrong again…otherwise there wouldn't be one.)

Grim began to pull things out of his trunk as he gathered the ingredients for the remedy. He could already tell that it was going to be a LONG evening.

XXX

Mandy sat icily in the corner of her living room, watching as Irwin made a fool of himself and Crabina became more and more frustrated. The worst thing about his dancing (And this had taken a lot of thinking on Mandy's part…considering that all sort of things came to mind when she tried to think of the _worst_) was that every time he started to get close to something that actually resembled dancing he would try to add some break dancing or pop moves into it and it would become a disaster.

Crabina turned towards her and motioned her towards the dance floor.

"Come on, Mandy…this is a couple's dance…he can't dance it well on his own." She said in a voice that implied that he couldn't really dance it well as a couple either…but it was worth a try and she was tired of being the only one who was undergoing torture.

"Thanks…I'm fine right here." Mandy replied while crossing her arms. Crabina scowled.

"Do you want to have a shot at this Prom Queen thing or not?" Crabina asked frustratingly. "Because I swear you won't get the title if your sitting out while he makes a fool of himself on the dance floor."

Mandy sighed. Grim would have given up right away…unfortunately…Crabina was slightly more iron willed then he was…and she didn't have a lot of experience with Mandy…and didn't know that when she said no, she meant no.

Grim…ever since she had danced with him she felt peculiarly light. It was a disturbing and unfamiliar feeling…and thus, she ignored it.

Mandy shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Fine." She said crossly and stood. She crossed over to Irwin…who had begun to sweat when he saw that she was going to dance with him. He grinned and held out his hand.

"Milady." He said in what he thought was a charming voice.

Mandy could feel her flesh trying to crawl away from his sweaty palm. But she would HAVE to eventually if she wanted to win. She reached out and took his damp and for some reason (And she didn't want to know why.) sticky hand.

"Good." Crabina said. "Irwin, put your hand on her waist. Mandy, put yours…" Mandy had already gotten in the right position. "Alright then." Crabina said. There was a long pause in which nothing happened. "Irwin…I said put your HAND on her WAIST."

Irwin was grinning stupidly. Crabina sighed and grabbed his hand and forced it on to Mandy's waist.

"Alright…now, I'll put on some music and we'll get started." She looked at Irwin for a moment, trying to decide perhaps whether or not he had somehow died while standing up, then shrugged and walked over to the stereo. Soon, a light and flowery music filled the room.

"Okay, now Irwin, do you remember what the first step involves?" He didn't answer. Across from him, Mandy was trying not to puke and resisting the urge to claw his eyes out. Both things looked more appealing to her at the moment. (A lot of things did actually…and this included being in the belly of a giant snake beast, with only a mime's company. Don't ask where that came from…) "Irwin!" Crabina called in a loud voice.

"I'm touching Mandy's hand." Irwin said dreamily. "And I didn't even have to brainwash her this time. Oh my God…I knew this moment would come!" He said excitingly. "We'll make magic tonight baby!"

Mandy tried to back away from him, a look of horror written across her façade as he wrapped two muscular arms around her. This, of course only lasted for about a second, before Mandy elbowed him HARD in the stomach. Irwin shrank away from her, grabbing his midsection.

"Ow, yo." He said in a weak voice.

Mandy grabbed him by his collar and pulled him up.

"If you ever EVER hug me again, I'll cut off your arms and shove them down your throat. Got it?" Irwin nodded nervously.

"Uh huh." He said, his voice shaking with the fear that only Mandy could induce. She dropped him.

"This dancing lesson is over." She said and left the room.

Crabina slumped her shoulders and, after casting a look at Irwin and then at the dance steps printed on Underworld paper (The footprints moved across the page.) she sighed and threw the stack of paper over her shoulder.

"Well…that's that then." She said. Even her own fame wasn't worth all of this trouble. "Go home and get dressed, Irwin. Maybe if your wearing a suit…and you don't move or speak all evening…and neither of you dance you two will…" She stopped. "Oh what's the point." She headed towards the stairs.

XXX

Grim put a cap on the antidote and set it down on his trunk. He fished through his robe and pulled out Crabina's potion, giving it an uneasy look before he pulled the cap off of it with his skeletal fingers. The smell of dead roses and dusk (Kind of a cross between sea breeze, summer air and butterscotch…don't ask) filled the room.

"Bottoms up." Grim said nervously as he downed the potion.

XXX

Mandy was sitting on her bed sulkily when she heard someone knocking on her door. She lifted her head and stared at the doorframe as though it were somehow offensive.

"Come in." She said bitterly.

Crabina opened the door and peeked in.

"Well, Mandy…it's almost five o' clock. You'd better get your dress on…then we'll do your makeup and hair." Mandy could tell that she had already given up. This was not encouraging…but at the same time she wasn't surprised.

Mandy stood up and pulled her dress off of the hook. When she did, she felt a gloomy feeling of trepidation enter her. In only a few hours she would walk through the doors at the High school and begin what would most likely be the most terrible evening of her entire life. And she had brought it upon herself.

After she pulled the melancholy 18th century dress over her waist and zipped it up, she smoothed down the skirt and headed over to the mirror where Crabina was waiting. She walked as though she were about to be hanged.

XXX

Grim hoisted a large and dreary looking mirror out of his trunk and shoved it against the wall, wiping some of the dust off of the surface and then standing back. He had to admit to himself that at least one thing had improved since he last made this dreadful transformation (Of course, at that time he didn't have much of a choice) and that was, that he was still wearing his robe. That was a GOOD thing. Last time he had had to settle for Billy's clothes, which hadn't fit…and had made him look like a dork. (Although that hadn't stopped him from getting the attention of several mortal women)

Another thing was that Crabina had obviously added a few touches of her own, so that…though he saw some of the most basic resemblances to "France" he also saw some differences that made him look more…Grim sighed.

_Well,_ he thought, _now I can probably get away with being in both the Underworld AND Mandy's High school prom_. He held his hand out and watched with satisfaction as his scythe appeared in his pale thin fingers. This cheered him up a little.

Now all he needed was a suit, which would be easy to acquire as long as he had his scythe, and…of course, he would have to do something about his hair…

_Damn you, Crabina. _

XXX

Billy and Karen arrived at Mandy's house at a quarter to seven. Billy was dressed in a blue suit with a shiny garter, which he had been wearing around his head until Karen got fed up with him, and put it on him right. Gladys had put a lot of grease in his hair and it was currently slicked tightly against his head.

Karen, who…was not particularly radiant was dressed in an orange and yellow dress which would have been very stunning on a girl with tanned skin and dark silky hair. Unfortunately she had straw like blond hair, pale skin that was cursed with masses of freckles and a chest that caused the dress to sag noticeably where it should have extended out.

She was currently swatting bugs away from the corsage Billy had given her.

"Where did you say you got this again, Billy?" She asked as she flicked a fly away from a flower that looked suspiciously like a dandelion.

"From my front yard…I made it just for you." He said while grinning. Karen returned his grin with a weak smile that said, quite contemptuously 'Lucky me.' She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject.

"Where's your friend anyway?" His goofy smile was replaced with puzzlement.

"I have friends?" Karen sighed and questioned for what may have been the millionth time why she was Billy's girlfriend.

"Hey look it's Mandy." Billy said happily. Karen looked up and watched as Mandy descended the stairs. This might have been one of those moments when the viewers were astonished as a completely reinvented young woman walked down a staircase in swishing skirts and caught the eye of all who were gazing upon her. What it lacked, however, was, unfortunately the beautiful maiden descending the staircase and catching the eyes of all who looked upon her.

Mandy did look beautiful, in the same way a black widow might before devouring her mate. Her dress did swish, and it was nice…and her makeup was professionally done, and her hair was curled slightly…pink flowers absent due to their untimely demise…but all of this was slightly spoiled by her obvious desire to be elsewhere and the look of murder in her eyes. She was beautiful…but it was the sort of beautiful that any wise gentleman would steer clear from, so that his head remained attached to his shoulders.

"Mandy…you look…nice." Karen said. Somewhere thunder rumbled. Nice wasn't a good word to describe how Mandy looked, Karen decided. Mandy crossed her arms, not commenting. Crabina followed her down the stairs and looked at the three of them wearily.

"Where's the idiot?" She asked dully. Mandy uncrossed her arms.

"Billy's right there." She said, while pointing to Billy, who smiled, looked confused, and then glared at Mandy.

"Hey!"

"I meant the other one." Crabina said.

"He's getting his dad's car…he said he'd take us all in that." Karen said, who was not entirely familiar with Irwin. Mandy's eyes widened.

"Irwin's dad drives a rusty two seater." She said, scowling.

"Yeah, boy, aren't we lucky." Billy said, while grinning at the front door. Both girls glared at him.

Five minutes went by, where, all three kids and Crabina stood in an uncomfortable silence. The silence was broken when Crabina spoke to Billy after she had been staring critically at him for a while.

"You know, boy…a boutonniere isn't suppose to go in your hair." She said, commenting on the white rose sticking out of his plastered red locks.

"He thinks it makes him look pretty." Karen said in a dry voice. It was clear that they had already argued over this matter.

The sound of some coughing dying animal could be heard from beyond the front door. There was a sputtering sound and the poor creature must've died because it went silent.

"Irwin's here." Billy said with a grin. The sound of a car door opened and shut…and shut again…and one more time and then Irwin could be seen walking towards the front door through the window. Mandy felt her fingers tingle…and decided that it would be a personal victory on her part if she didn't rip her date's head off within the first couple minutes of seeing him.

Crabina, looking dreadful, stepped towards the door and opened it as Irwin ascended the steps. He was holding a bouquet of some unidentifiable flowers and was wearing a grin that said he was already off in his own fantasy world even before he saw Mandy all dressed up.

"Hey baby, you look hot." He said and held out the flowers. Mandy took them, careful not to touch his hand as she did. He then reached out with one moist hand.

"Shall we?" He asked. Mandy stared at it in revulsion.

_Here we go. _She thought and reached out. The action, she felt was in slow motion. Her stomach turned, as her fingers were inches away from his. Then, just as they made contact, there came the sound of what could have been the call of whatever creature had killed Irwin's car. A great roar filled the night air and, seeming to materialize out of the darkness a massive limo came to a screeching halt. It parked on the opposite side of Irwin's car, devouring it in its shadow. It was a deep purple and shined with an impressive malice. In the front was a silver skull ornament with ruby eyes.

All four kids watched it with awe and curiosity. Crabina raised her eyebrows.

"Brothers Gloom Limousine Service. Didn't think they escorted mortals." She said, breaking the stunned silence.

Mandy blinked and looked down at her bouquet, which appeared to be undergoing a transformation. At first it looked like they were dying…then it became more obvious that whatever flowers Irwin had given her had developed the ability to turn into roses. They became a deep black and shined with the same striking flare that the vehicle did.

Someone took Mandy's hand (which was still outstretched) from behind. She looked down at the gloved fingers, then up into the face of a man who gave new meaning to the words 'Tall, dark and handsome.'

His face was pale, the face of a man who was either obsessed with Vampires or was one himself, and came down to a square jaw that looked all too familiar. His hair, which was a deep black fell down below his shoulders and was tied in a loose ponytail. He was wearing a tuxedo…that could only be called a tuxedo by default, for it looked far too ancient and was most likely made during a time when the standard tuxedo had not yet been invented. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, Irwin." He said to the stunned boy in front of him. "Your services are no longer required." Mandy's thoughts finally collected themselves, and factored in the Jamaican voice and obviously morbid façade of the stranger who was still holding her hand.

"Grim?" She said, genuinely surprised. He gave her a slightly nervous smile.

"Uh yeah…" He said, and coughed a little guiltily, doing his best to ignore the smug look on Crabina's face. "I tought perhaps you would prefer a date who could actually…you know…dance."

Mandy's look of surprise vanished as she regained her composer. It turned first back into her trademark glare until she removed her hand from his. She stuck her elbow out in the traditional escorting position with an approving look on her face.

"Shall we then." She said. Grim smiled and linked arms with her. They started out towards the hired car, where a zombie was waiting next to an open wine colored door. Irwin, who was watching them dejectedly, began to turn red with rage. He was about to storm after them, but Crabina hurriedly pushed Billy and Karen in his way. She smiled as Grim and Mandy ducked into the limousine. Perhaps things weren't hopeless after all.

XXX

One last Chapter and this story will be finished. I have decided that it will only contain slight GrimXMandy…but Ihave an idea for another, much longer story that would contain more. I have a lot of stories I need to catch up on…but this one has been burning in my mind so it's likely that I will try and write it. This is, of course whether or not you wish to read it. I really appreciate the reviews and I hope you liked this chapter.


	6. Prom Hell With Bad Music

Part Six:

Prom; Hell With Bad Music.

The limo ride was mostly quiet, aside from Billy's occasional remarks as he tried in vain to start a game of I Spy. For the most part the other three ignored him.

Grim, who was aggravatingly messing with his hair, which would not stay in place and his collar, which was much too tight, froze when he caught Karen's eye. She smiled at him and to be polite, he returned her smile somewhat before turning away in annoyance. Mandy wasn't paying them any mind and was staring out the window in a bored manner.

"Mandy, are you going to introduce your date?" Karen asked, still smiling. Mandy pulled her apathetic gaze away from the window to look at Billy's gauche prom date. She was giving Grim a look of wide-eyed curiosity and had developed that flirtatious manner ofsome girls who suddenly find themselves in the presence of someone who is both more interesting and more attractive then their own boyfriend.

Grim started to open his mouth when Mandy interrupted.

"That's of no interest to you." Mandy responded with a slight edge to her voice, which stated bluntly that he was off limits. Grim closed him mouth, avoiding Mandy's typical glare. He wondered vaguely why he was doing this again.

Finally, after a half an hour of uncomfortable silence, where Grim tried to ignore Karen, whom he saw looking at him constantly out of the corner of his eye and Mandy, who kept glaring back at her, they finally neared the school. Billy, who had quieted earlier, after Grim had struck him on the side of the head when he began to sing a traveling song, spoke up gleefully.

"Hey it's the school! Ooh hey it's Mindy…she's looking pretty good, mhmm."

The limo came to a screeching halt and the driver, who stepped outside the door and moaned loudly in the direction of several kids who were gawking at it (Needless to say, they stopped) walked over to the side door and opened it.

Mandy stepped out first, with Grim at her heels. Karen took a few more minutes to try to convince Billy to take his boutonniere out of his hair, before giving up and following the other two. The limo driver, who was standing slack jawed, impatiently growled at Billy, who hurried out of the limo in response.

Grim reached into his coat and pulled out a wad of cash, which he handed to the impatient looking Zombie.

"Tanks for coming on such short notice, your tip, of course will be sent to The Brothers Gloom and will be in more of the…brain persuasion." The zombie took the money, looking considerably more cheerful at the thought of brains to come.

"Be back here in about four hours." Grim said as he turned back to the kids and tucked his wallet back into his vintage coat. "Well, come on. Let's get this over with." He said drearily as he offered Mandy his arm.

XXX

It was characteristically decorated inside the school. In cardboard, the words UNDER THE STARS hung above a darkly lit hall filled with the glitter of outfits. The rest of the room was filled with the obviously student crafted decorations and left over Christmas lights. On the far side of the large Dance room a long table with a white cloth over it was adorned with various foods. Other then this there were the headache inducing disco lights and the mind numbing music, which promised to be mostly the sort where it was IMPOSSIBLE for a child to get too dangerously close to their date.

Grim cringed when they entered the room. It was amazing how tacky the human race was becoming. The music was dreadful and the dancing was completely without rhythm. Beside him, Mandy was looking at the broadened hall as though it were some sort of private hell she had sent herself too.

Billy stared stupidly at the decorations, clearly overwhelmed by their shininess. Finally, after he got over his initial wonder, he grabbed Karen by the wrist and started to drag her towards the center of the room. Karen sighed and allowed herself to be pulled along.

"Well," Grim said with a sigh. "What now?" Mandy's scowl was replace by a look of cynical boredom. (Which wasn't a vast change.)

"This." She said dully. She continued to stand miserably. After a few moments Grim's eyebrows furled.

"Fun." He said sarcastically. He noticed that their position was almost directly in front of the entrance when a Teenager ran into him and then, politely, gave him the finger.

"Maybe we should at least sit." He said. Mandy shrugged and followed him over to a row of chairs in which mainly rejects dwelled, most of whom were looking hopefully in the direction of all of the activity.

Grim sat and, with a sigh, rested his chin in his palm. He glanced at the clock on the far side of the room. Only three hours and forty minutes left to go. Beside him Mandy was doing what she did best, which was glaring and making people around her nervous and in some cases downright frightened. She didn't look much like a prom queen.

A couple girls passed in front of them. One of them, the nearest, was wearing a black evening dress and WAY too much eyeliner. She looked at Grim and smiled shyly, then whispered excitedly to her friends, who looked in his direction and giggled. He blushed and turned in a different direction. Mortals.

After fifteen minutes Grim began to get bored of drumming his fingers on his knees and stood up.

"I'm going to go get some punch." He said. "Do you want some?"

"Whatever." She said in a near monotone voice. He growled something to himself and headed towards the punch bowl.

XXX

Mindy flipped one of her curls out of her face and placed a perfectly manicured hand on her waist. Next to her was the Quarterback of the football team. (Spurg had been the quarterback earlier in the season, but against the coaches wishes was forced to retire the position to the heavyset blonde man who was currently standing beside Mindy. The reason for this was that the High school principal had caught sight of the severity of his grade point average **Namely that he didn't have one**, and was forced to take him off the team.) Obediently he was keeping quiet as she chattered aimlessly about a hot pink convertible her father had bought her for her birthday.

The girl on the other side of the conversation was smiling in a jealous way, but was keeping quiet. Her date was picking at his lapel and was wearing a slack jawed look as he impatiently waited for Mindy to shut up.

She did, but only when she looked towards the refreshment table.

"Who is that hottie standing by the punch bowl?" This turned the heads of those around her as they looked in the direction of the snack table.

"I don't know…" A blonde on Mindy's left replied. "He looks like he's at least in his twenties though!"

"Maybe he's a teacher." One of the boys offered.

"No…if he was I'd be in _his_ class." Mindy smiled.

"He looks kinda weird…like a stalker or something…or like he has bats in his belfry." Another boy said, a little jealously, as his date was looking in the stranger's direction with interest.

"Yeah," Mindy said, "But his clothes looks expensive and _anyone_ who think they can pull off hair like that must be suave."

Mindy's date scoffed.

"Or think they are." He said in a thick voice. Mindy ignored this.

"Who do you think he's with?" A dark haired girl asked. (Who had also been the one suffering through Mindy's arrogant babble a minute before.)

"Who cares." Mindy said, with an egotistical smile. "He won't be theirs for much longer." She shoved her handbag towards her affronted date.

"Hold this, Dennis." She said distractedly.

"My name isn't..." He startedbut she had already started towards the punch bowl. After a moment of stunned silence he hung the purse on his shoulder (Needless to say, pink was not his color) and crossed his arms, glaring in the direction of the punch table.

"Nice purse buddy!" Some random jerk shouted. Mindy's date sighed heavily.

XXX

Grim grabbed the ladle and lifted it out of the punch bowl, pouring the red liquid into a suspiciously happy looking paper cup. The way the light hit it; it almost looked like it could be blood. Of course it wasn't…but one could always hope.

He nearly spilled when he felt someone slap him jauntily on the back. He stood up straight and frowned.

"Hello Billy." He said through his teeth.

"Hey Grim, whatcha doing?" Grim set the ladle back into the punch and gave the boy a bleak look.

"Trying to enjoy myself…but apparently it's not going to happen." Billy, as always, missed the edge in his voice. Grim scanned the area around the boy, before giving him a puzzled look.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Billy looked at him blankly.

"Who?" Grim sighed heavily.

"Your girlfriend, _Billy_! You know…you came with her!" He said irritably.

"Oh…I don't know." Billy responded…looking idiotically blank for a moment. "Maybe she had to use the bathroom."

He seemed as though he were about to say something else when he was shoved brutally out of the way by a lovely young woman with long red hair. Grim jerked away instinctively before she settled herself and gave him a syrupy grin.

"Hi, I noticed you from across the room and was wondering how someone as interesting looking as you doesn't know me, so I decided to come over here and remedy that. After all, if you've never met me, it's impossible for you to stare at me longingly from across the room" She held out her hand palm down. Grim stared at it for a moment in stunned silence.

"Uh…hello." He said bewilderedly as he took her hand and gave it an elegant shake. She flipped her hair back theatrically and gave him what teenage girls must assume was an erotic look.

"Where'd you get your suit?..." She asked.

"Well I..."

"It looks expensive. I like your hair. Did you do it yourself?"

"Well it..."

"Do you wanna dance? You look like you know your way around the dance floor." Grim frowned.

"Um…"

"You _do_ know how to dance don't you?" She said, this time with the piercing look of someone who was not easily satisfied.

"Well…actually, I'm quite good at…" He said, his voice slightly smug, before the words caught in his throat. Even from across the room he could feel the severe iciness of Mandy's gaze. He swallowed.

"Um…would you excuse me for a moment." He said in a feeble voice before he grabbed the other cup of punch that he had poured and headed back towards where Mandy was sitting. Mindy watched him angrily.

"Hey! I decide when the conversations over!" She screamed after him. Her anger fell when she caught sight of Mandy from across the room, who was watching as Grim approached her with a horrifying look on her face.

She stared disbelievingly at thesurly blonde. He was Mandy's date. How did a loser like her get someone like him to go to Prom with her…and where did she get that dress!

"It looks ugly on her!" She said to a random nerd standing nearby who looked at her blankly.

_But expensive…MORE expensive then mine…how dare she!_

"Well, I wont stand for this." She said in a spoiled voice and stomped…as best as she could in heels, towards Mandy and Grim, stepping on Billy, who groaned as her extremely pointy shoes stabbed him repeatedly.

"Ow…my spleen."

XXX

"What were you talking to Mindy for?" Mandy asked crossly as Grim approached with her punch.

"Mindy?" Grim asked…then his mind caught up as he handed her the paper cup, which she took from him and tossed aside without a second thought. (On a chair nearby a boy stood up in devastation as it spilled over his crotch.)

"That was Mindy?" He asked, general awe ebbing into his voice. "Wow she looks…" He felt the room's temperature lower a bit and made an intelligent decision. "…The same as she did the last time I saw her." He feigned a cough and sat down nervously.

Mandy crushed something in her fist, as it turned out it was a part of her corsage. As the rose petals fell on her skirt she caught sight of Mindy coming towards them out of the corner of her eye.

"Perfect." She said with both disdain and consent. She had an evil look in her eye. She was GOOD with confrontation. Grim recognized the look and became more anxious.

"Now Mandy…don't do anything foolish." He said quietly.

"Well, well, well." Mindy said as she approached. "I'm surprised you showed up." Mandy glared back.

"Well, I hope you know that I plan to win the title of Prom Queen." She said, after Mandy didn't say anything.

Mandy crossed her arms.

"Not if I have anything to do with it." She responded monotonously. Mindy smiled wickedly.

" Please, as if a loser like you could beat me." Mindy said, putting extra emphasis on the word loser.

"We'll see." Mandy said, not shaken. Just as Grim was about to take a drink of his punch Mandy took it from him and gulped it down. He sighed.

"Now run along." She said as she tossed the paper cup aside. "Your ruining my prom experience."

Mindy scowled. Her disdainful appearance however vanished as she glanced at Grim, who was looking dejected. She smiled in malevolence.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your date Mandy?" She asked. She caught Grim's eye and gave him the self-assured smile of someone who was used to stealing other people's dates.

"Nope." Mandy said,and castGrim a look of caution.

"Fine then. I'll ask him myself." She said and turned towards the reaper with a smirk. "I'm Mindy," She said as she moved a stray curl out of her left eye. "I'm pretty and popular and was wondering if you wanted to ditch this loser and come hang out with me and the cool people."

Grim started to open his mouth to say something when Mandy cut in.

"He isn't interested!" She said as she grabbed Grim's arm and pulled him off of his seat. Mandy dragged him across the dance floor; ignoring both Mindy's departing comments and Grim's furious protests. Finally Grim yanked his arm away from Mandy and stood in front of her indignantly.

"Stop it Mandy! What the hell was that about?" He questioned angrily. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him within an inch of her threatening gaze.

"You better not forget why you're here Grim. Mindy is the enemy remember that. If I catch you hanging out with her I'll make your life a living hell." For a moment Grim looked reluctant, then, his brow furled and he removed her hand from his lapel.

"You already make my life a living hell! Besides I wasn't going to!" He seemed to think for a moment. "But maybe I will, now! It'd certainly be better then sitting around and being yelled at!" He said and turned to stomp away.

"You'll regret it if you do, Grim." She said in a low and dangerous voice.

"Oh, I'm terrified!" He shouted over his shoulder in sarcasm. He pushed a teenage boy who was trying to impress a teenage girl out of his way (Who then spilled punch all over her and lost any chance he had of ever getting near her again.) as he trudged across the dance hall.

Mandy stood in place, glaring at his withdrawing form. Finally she crossed her arms and headed off in the opposite direction.

The end…

Just kidding.

XXX

Grim headed angrily towards the exit doors. Who did she think she was? He didn't even have to be here tonight! If it weren't for him she would have had to put up with Irwin all night…or at least for thirty seconds before she killed him.

_I knew it would end up like this! _He thought, furious with himself for giving in to his own guilt.

"Where do you think your going?" Grim stopped and turned. As he did, Mindy closed in on him, taking a step forward so that she was uncomfortably close.

"Oh…" Grim said, while subconsciously taking a step back. "It's only you."

Mindy's extremely narrow mind chose to ignore this statement as she closed what little space Grim had tried to make for himself and ran her finger down his outdated coat.

"Want to hit the dance floor…whatever your name is?" She said, her engaging voice washed-out slightly by the fact she didn't know what to call him.

Grim removed her hand politely.

"No tanks, I'm leaving." He said, for he had no real intention of spending any time with Mindy. He had known her long enough to become quite annoyed with her. She was selfish and she talked too much…and besides…she always called him a loser and that got hurtful after a while.

Mindy looked as though she had been slapped in the face.

"What?" She asked, in surprise. He turned and walked the rest way to the door, ignoring her as she started to shout after him.

"You can't say no to me! I'm popular! Hey, Don't you walk away from me! You get back here right now! Fine! I don't need you! That makes you a LOSER!"

Grim rolled his eyes as he shut the door behind him.

XXX

His name was Drake (There's a point to this…trust me…) although, she had never actually asked him…and she kept getting it wrong, so it didn't matter much. Since she had left he had been subject to quite a lot of scorn regarding the pink handbag he had over his shoulder. Particularly from Spurg…who kept walking by him on purpose to torture him further.

"Hey Drakey, maybe you should try out for the cheerleading squad instead!"

Damn, there he was again!

When Mindy returned to her group of friends, Drake included, she looked furious…but she wasn't as furious as Drake was. In fifteen minutes he had gone from big man on campus to that idiot holding the purse.

"Come on Daniel." Mindy said and she must've been talking to him because she was LOOKing at him. "Turns out that guy was a loser, so I guess you're my date again." She looked annoyed, but said it so that it appeared to be some sort of privilege to be in her company. He could have gone with ANYONE! Just because she was the most popular girl in school didn't mean that there weren't others who were equally attractive. Well not anymore, most of the pretty girls had laughed at him along with Spurg…because…of…her. He went red in the face.

"Danny, I said COME ON." He grabbed her purse and threw it on the floor, then, in front of her shocked expression he stomped on it repeatedly.

"MY…NAME…IS…DRAKE!" He said as he stomped. Finally, when he was done he picked up the wrecked thing that no longer resembled a handbag and thrust it towards her. "And you can find another date."

Mindy's face reddened. She didn't take rejection well.

"What...I'm...dateless." She said,as sheput the crushed purse around her shoulder. "I CAN'T BE DATELESS!" She said, on borderline insanity.

XXX

In the meantime, Mandy was standing by the punch bowl with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. A boy approached.

"Um…are you gonna get some punch…or just stand there cause I kind of want some and…" Mandy gave him an icy look.

"Er…never mind." He said and backed away nervously.

"Hey Mandy." Billy came up beside her. He had a piece of toilet paper stuffed in his nose, which was bleeding.

"Billy, were you picking your nose again?" Mandy asked dully.

"Yes…but this is from being pushed on the floor by Mindy." He said as he picked at something in his ear.

Mandy growled something to herself, involving Mindy and sharp objects.

"Where's Grim?" Billy asked as he pulled someone out of his ear...which Mandy tried to ignore as best as she could.

"Probably somewhere kissing up to Mindy."

"Nah…Mindy's in the girl's bathroom having a nervous breakdown." Mandy glared.

"How do you know that?" For a moment, Billy looked ashamed.

"I was curious." This was one of Billy's many comments that automatically thrust the mind into cruel imagination.

"I don't want to know." She sighed. She looked at Billy and raised her brow. "Where's Karen?"

"I think she left." Billy said sadly. "She didn't like the way I danced…she said it gave her a headache."

Mandy nodded. She had seen the way Billy danced.

"That's too bad Billy." She said, showing very little interest.

"Yeah." Billy said…fortunately his short attention span came to action and his troubles were pushed aside as he examined a piece of pre chewed gum on the bottom of a snack tray. Mandy rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to go wait outside." Mandy said drearily.

"Don't you want to see who won Prom Queen? They're announcing it soon." Billy said, taking his eyes off of the gum for a moment. Mandy didn't answer.

XXX

When Mandy stepped out into the fresh spring air she scowled. She hated the fresh Spring air. It reminded her of blossoms and flowers and gentle rain showers. She kicked her heels off, which were beginning to really annoy her and threw them randomly at a tree. One of them hit a very unfortunate bird. The other went over and landed on the other side.

"Ow!" Said the tree…or a particularly well spoken (And Jamaican) squirrel.

Mandy raised her brow and headed towards the tree.

"Grim?" She said as she walked around it and saw him rubbing his head in irritation and giving her an accusing look. "What are you doing out here, bone head?" (And he was again.) Grim must've decided that he had grown tired of mortality and had returned back into his typical physique. Mandyliked him better that way anyhow.When he was the Grim Reaper he was just another loser to Mindy.

"Waiting for the damn limo!" He snapped back. "Why don't you go back into your wretched Prom and leave me alone!"

Mandy leaned against the tree and crossed her arms.

"I'm staying right here." She said, mainly to show him that she didn't take orders from him…and that it should most certainly be the other way around.

"Fine!" He shouted back.

"Fine." She responded coolly.

There was a long and heated silence between them. Grim was scowling and avoiding Mandy's presence as best as he could while Mandy stood unfazed and comfortable within the stillness.

"So what happened with miss popular?" Mandy asked, mainly trying to annoy him further. "Did you scare her off?"

"No! I did not scare her off!" He said bitterly.

"Shame." Mandy said. For a moment it was quiet enough to here the cricket's in the trees and the light spring wind through the outsretched branches. If either Grim or Mandy cared about such things they might have appreciated the moment.

"So...why aren't you in there with Miss Popular...not being yelled at?" Mandy asked after a moment.

"Because I don't want to be."Grim respondedthrough his teeth. Mandy found this extremely hard to believe. Even Billy and Irwin, who actually LIKED her (Although she wished they didn't) would have blown her off if Mindy asked them to hang out with her.

"Uh huh." Mandy said disbelievingly. "She probably tossed you aside like a paper cup…like she always…" Finally Grim got fed up.

"No! She didn't! I'm out here because I don't like her! She talks to much, sheannoys me…she didn't even ask me my name!" He paused and shook his finger at Mandy, whose expression had not changed. "-and I don't like you either…because you don't appreciate me! The only reason I even came to this damn Prom was for you anyways! But do I get any gratitude? Of course not!" He detached himself from the tree, still yelling. "I don't even know what I was thinking, man!"

He pulled his scythe out of the air and seemingly aimed it at Mandy, who was wide eyed, but not exactly panicking. Instead of blasting her, he blasted the tree, which went up in flames.

Her face resumed to its normal scowl as she took a step back from the flaming tree. She crossed her arms.

"Well, who asked you to come..." She said after a moment. Grim scowled. "Mindy's after all 'prom queen material.' Why does it matter who I got stuck with tonight?"

"Well..." Grim said. "It doesn't if you just sit dere like you been doing all night. Maybe if you would actualy _try." _

Mandy shrugged.

"Who would _you_ vote for, Grim?" She said, scorn lacing her words.

Grim thought about it for a moment. _You...because you have more brains then she does, you have more talent then she does and if you would only smile..._

"You, because if I didn't I know you'd make my life a living hell." He said. Mandy's expression didn't change, but she seemed to scan his skull for authenticity.

"And now to introduce tonight's Prom Queen and King."A voice reverberated from the dance hall coming out only barely perceptible as it echoed into the night. Mandy seemed to make a decision. She took a few steps towards Grim.

"Come on, Grim." She said, her expression unchanging as she grabbed his empty hand (For he was still holding his scythe) and led him back towards the dance hall. Stricken, he followed her without protest.

XXX

When they entered most of the girls and boys were turned towards the stage in expectation. The girls, mainly, looked hopeful, while squeezing their boyfriend's hands hard enough to bring tears to their eyes.

Mandy and Grim halted amongst the crowd. Grim cleared his throat a little uncomfortably, even after they had come to a halt, Mandy hadn't let go of his hand.

The boy on stage shouted over the crowd once more.

"According to the voters, this years Under the Star's Prom king and queen are...Rita and Puddin!"

Mandy blinked.

"Puddin?" Grim asked, to no one in particular.

"WHAT?" Mindy stomped into the spotlight from the back of the crowed. Her hair was a mess and she had mascara running down her face. "But…I'M SUPPOSE TO BE PROM QUEEN! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" She shouted as the fightened looking Queen and the even more frightened looking King, who had started to cry when the crowd wouldn't stop slapping him jovially on the back.

Mandy glanced at Mindy in satisfaction.

"Looks like your not the queen anymore, Mindy…too bad." She said sardonically. "Come on Grim, let's dance." She said. Grim looked slightly perplexed, but didn't raise any objections as she pulled him onto the dance floor.

"Aren't you upset?" Grim asked her as she started to get into the typical waltz position.

"Nah..." Mandy responded. Just as she said this Mindy came up behind her and Grim, shouting.

"It doesn't matter if I'm Prom Queen! Do you know why? Because you STILL lost!" Mandy frowned and turned towards Mindy. She crossed her arms.

"Hey, I'm not the one who got rejected twice tonight and has mascara running down her face…and besides..." Mandy held her hand out expectantly. Grim smiled and handed her his scythe in an expecting manner. She raised it, and before Mindy could react, blasted her in the face. When she lowered the scythe Mindy reached towards where her mouth was before it was sealed shut with a large piece of steel. Mindy turned red in the face and started shouting muffled things through the obstruction, but to no avail.

"…I never lose." Mandy finished as she handed Grim's scythe back to him.

Mandy took Grim's hand again. Grim, who had tucked his scythe away again to wherever he kept it when it was not with him and started to lead her into a dance. And oddly enough, he found that he enjoyed it.

Outside, the limo was parked and the Zombie driver was tapping his foot to the music. Beside him, Billy was playing air guitar to a piano solo. Around them, the crickets hummed, the wind blew through the trees, and the season of Twitterpation began.

XXX

Yup…that's all you get! Haha! But don't fret little zombies, Twitterpated will end up being very GrimXMandy and you can get your icky fluff when you read it…as soon as I write the rest of it…which will hopefully be soon.

Speaking of which…Sorry it took so long. I've been really busy with work and graduation lately. Hopefully, this will disperse by the end of next week.

Additional Comments:

Nako-chan: Thanx for the comments. It means a lot coming from such a talented writer. Oh and now that I've done my update, you can do yours ;)

TrippyPeace: Back peddling means trying to verbally fix something you may have said wrong. As in, if you accidentally insult someone, then try to fix it so that the person doesn't get angry.

And FOREVER: Thank you for reviewing every single chapter and I hope you do indeed like Twitterpated as well.

TotallyClassy: I'm glad you like my stories…although this just means that I've made you wait a long time for an update on more then just one. Pumpkin Town should be wrapping up soon too, as soon as I find the time to update it more frequently.

Hells agent: I really enjoyed your comments, particularly the one about the slug eating Irwin.

Zeitgheist: Thanks for the reviews. Although on the goth subject…technically, Mandy is also for the most part emotionless, aside from anger…ne ways…I took the goth comment out just for you. It now says evil.

Soldier of Darkness: Thanx for the reviews. I did in fact remove the comment on the first chapter about losing interest…and I am writing another story so I proved myself wrong ne ways.

Simply Myself: Thanx for the review! I appreciate it.

Meiriona: Glad you liked it…and particularly glad I didn't manage to mangle any characters…although I might have in this last chapter.

Nercia Genisis: Thanx for the reviews. And I am in fact writing the other story…so I hope it doesn't suck.

Snow Ahriman: Thanx for your reviews I may have mucked Crabina's character…I think I've only seen that episode once or twice. I was hoping it'd come on again before I finished this, but they just keep playing the new ones.

Zeitgheist: I'm sorry I had to change Grim's look. I almost didn't because of your review, but in the end it just worked better for me when it came to plot. I hope it didn't ruin anything for you.

fireblade quickclaw: Thanx for your review. I hope you were satisfied with the result.

Kyo-kun AND Hatsuharu are h...: Thanx for the support!

Anxoius Reader: Glad you like it. Hope the last chapter was not a dissapointment.

FurubaFmaNarutoHngFan: Thank you for your support!

I know I probably missed someone and if I did I'm sorry! Thank you all for your reviews and your faves. I hope the last chapter was not a disappointment.


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